Calibration bar at the bottom of the page

[Kym]

Observant lot you all are... :rolleyes:

There is a new calibration bar at the bottom of the screen...

http://www.ausphotography.net.au/staff/technical/APcalibrate.png (http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showlibrary.php?title=New_To_Photography:Learning_to_print_or_web_publish_photographs)

For those with calibrated monitors you should see 33 distinct bars of brightness.
If either end are continuous black or white then you are not seeing images as they should be.

For those who don't ... click the bar for more information. :th3:

From Rick:
The best method I have found for manual calibration is here (http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/)

The calibration bar does NOT mean your monitor is correctly calibrated. It just means that the brightness levels are correct, nothing more.

To ensure your monitor is correctly calibrated, the use of a hardware device (http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showthread.php?91096-Monitor-Calibration-Devices) is necessary. Please do not assume that because you can see all the squares on our calibration bar, that you do not need to use a monitor calibrator. Use of a hardware calibration device is the only way to get it right!

Just cause you can see all the bars does not mean your screen is OK.

[William]

:o Never scroll down that far Kym , But a handy little things these are , I get 34 graduations :th3:
:) Lol , I keep on losing count, Maybe a couple more, But the important thing is I can see them all , Especially at both ends

[ameerat42]

I sort of glanced at it and 4-got, but since you remind me, I'm glad I can see each division separately. I hope that means this monitor is not 1/2 bad after all.
Ta 4 that, Am.

[Kym]

32 gaps, 33 bars

If they are all distinct then you are half way to a calibrated monitor

[ricktas]

If you find that the left hand few all look the same (black), or the right hand ones are all white, and you cannot see any graduation between them, your monitor needs calibrating. The optimal way is with a hardware colorimeter calibration device, like a Spyder. If you do not have access to one, the best method I have found is here (http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/)

[William]

32 gaps, 33 bars

If they are all distinct then you are half way to a calibrated monitor

Thanks Kym, That'l do me ;)

[ving]

very cool sir! :th3::th3::th3:

[Coral]

Thanks for this post as i wasn't sure how the new monitor was with calibration but fortunately all looks good :th3:

[Tannin]

http://www.ausphotography.net.au/staff/technical/APcalibrate.png[/URL]

For those with calibrated monitors you should see an even distribution of brightness.


Doesn't work. Not even at all.

It's much brighter at the right-hand end.


:eek:

[William]

Doesn't work. Not even at all.

It's much brighter at the right-hand end.


:eek:

Still looks fine to me , Now I've recounted, Cause it's bright at the right hand end , thats the white end , But you should be able to see a definate graduation in the whites ( For Highlights) Same as the other end , Blacks, ( Definition in the Shadows) Your Calibration must be way out :(

[ricktas]

Although this bar gives you a good indication if your monitor is set to display various brightness levels, it is still missing the concept of temperature (kelvin). Even if you can see all of the small bars and the graduations of each one from black to white, your monitor could still be less than accurate. It could be displaying the graphic with a warm (reddish) tone or a cool (blueish) tone. Sometimes this is very hard for the human eye to realise cause the brain is smart enough to know and make you think you are seeing white, when really what is visible is not white. The brain fills in the gaps and makes us see what it thinks we need to see, not necessarily what is really in front of us.

So use this graphic for what it is, but do not assume your monitor is calibrated correctly, just cause you can see every bar in the graphic.

[I @ M]

Doesn't work. Not even at all.

It's much brighter at the right-hand end.


:eek:

I thought that you were in favour of ETTR (expose to the right) ;)

[Tannin]

Sigh.

Even - "free from variations or fluctuations". It wasn't that obscure.

[William]

I'll just trust my "Spyder Calibration" for now, All the other Applets look good also , Gamma , Colour etc , Plus , What I get printed , Looks exactly what I see on the screen :)

[arthurking83]

OH! is that what this was for!!

I was tapping it lightly with my tablet pan expecting to hear soft melodic tinking sounds. What a relief, as I thought my sound card had bitten the dust or something.



....


It's much brighter at the right-hand end.


:eek:

Are you sure it's not simply a lot darker at the left hand side instead?? :p

damn it's hard to see that black wedge against a black background too!

[Kym]

Oi vay! Such humour! :lol:
The point of the thread was to raise awareness, and to show some, that their monitor basic brightness & contrast was either way off or maybe somewhere near sane. :rolleyes:

[ricktas]

Oi vay! Such humour! :lol:
The point of the thread was to raise awareness, and to show some, that their monitor basic brightness & contrast was either way off or maybe somewhere near sane. :rolleyes:

Somewhere near sane?!?!?!?! So is monitor sanity classed as a specific defence in court? "My photos did not print correctly for the bride and groom your honour, which is why we are standing before you today, cause my monitor was insane at the time" :lol:

[Indigo]

Thanks Kym for this handy little strip, my computer seems to be sane:D

[agb]

I found it much easier to see against the background provided by the black stealth skin, rather than the site default one. I can at least now distinguish the last black bar.

[Kym]

It now has a grey band :th3: Refresh if needed

[Kafter244]

Wow I can even see all 33 bars on my iPhone! :D lol

Can never get near the laptop nowadays...may have to buy another one soon so I can get on with my PP. ;)

Cheers for the handy info guys.

[Nikkie]

left to right Black to grey to white

[Bathy]

Hi All,

My first posting;- with regard to the calibration bar seems well defined on my laptop,my kelvin meter varies red to blue depending on if iam drinking either a red or white wine..:D Thanks

Bathy

[William]

left to right Black to grey to white

Nikkie, Can you see the different Graduations of the colours ? Not just a smooth transition from Black to grey to white , So far seems like everyone has a well calibrated monitor :)

[Gremlin]

yay mines good!

[Wirginia]

This got my attention and I'm pleased to say my monitor is about as 'sane' as I can get it. Thanks for this, very handy! :th3:

Virginia

[peterking]

I did spot it some time ago and looked at it. Saw all the segment and thought my monitor was good.
It was something similar that I used when I first got my iMac. Simplest tool I've ever used.

Thanks for putting it there.

[FallingHorse]

Ha - alway wondered what that little graph at the bottom of the page was for! :) Thanks Kym... I have certified my monitor as sane your honour :)

[Kym]

Ha - always wondered what that little graph at the bottom of the page was for! :) Thanks Kym... I have certified my monitor as sane your honour :)

:D
If everyone, esp. competition voters, had calibrated monitors then things would be a more even playing field.
People would also get a closer rendering when they printed their images !

[RobertKD]

Yes mine also checks out good on the grey scale, it was only calibrated a couple of weeks ago,.

But it does raise a question about colour space and colour temperature I use sRGB and 6500K as white?

[I @ M]

Yes mine also checks out good on the grey scale, it was only calibrated a couple of weeks ago,.

But it does raise a question about colour space and colour temperature I use sRGB and 6500K as white?

But, on the 'net the most important thing for viewing photos will be the colour awareness of your chosen browser.
Advice---- choose anything other than internet explorer. :)

[ril14ey]

This is a great little tool, will adjust my monitor when i get home
Thanks Kym

[RobertKD]

@I@M

Agree but those using IE to gauge colour space and white balance from an 8bit jpg aren't likely to pick the difference either. :)

I'm still trying to come to terms with the local print shops printers and the dumb look I get when I ask about calibration of their print system. :eek:

Robert

[creakingbones]

Very handy to have as an instant guide. I calibrate our monitors using the Spyder on a weekly basis. There is never a great deal of variation but keeping the ambient light levels constant is a pain in the proverbial.

[john99]

Thanks Kym, very helpful.

[graemeb24]

thanks for the guidance - mine's ok - graemeb24

[Evil_Robot_Santa]

It helped me out!

[ricktas]

As noted previously in this thread. The Calibration Bar does NOT mean your monitor is correctly calibrated! All it does is show the range of brightness your monitor is set to/displays. It does not show white balance, or colour correctness. It is a simple tool to help with one aspect of the entire monitor calibration accuracy process. The best way to ensure your monitor is correctly calibrated is to get a hardware calibration device, like a Colorvision Spyder, Eizo EasyPix, X-rite Eye One, etc

[apostlegirl]

cool tip!

[shakes]

thank you very much for those links... My monitor wasnt as far out as I thought!

[Paddyob]

Thanks very much!:)

[Cyclorama]

I think I better calibrate my reading glasses first:scrtch:

[Kel]

Thanks that is a really good tool to have.

[Blueywa]

works for me ;)

[MBPierre]

Thanks for the monitor calibration tip

[IanHulbert]

:) Thanks for the great link, I new my laptop monitor was bad, now I know how bad it really is. Saved your link for when I finally buy a good desktop monitor.

Has anyone got any suggestions for a combined photo editing, internet browsing, document creation/editing, videos and movies? I would imagine this would require at least 2 monitor settings (as most use apart from photo editing is generally better on a brighter/greener screen - especially Blu-ray/DVD as they are made for out-of-box too bright and too green LCD/plasma these days).

Cheers, :th3:
Ian

[ricktas]

Ian

Hardware calibration devices are the ONLY way to get anything that is consistent with a known standard. So look at getting yourself a calibrator. There are several out there.

[kroppkaka]

I think my monitor is not very good.
I struggle to get the colors right.
Maybe I have to get a better one.

[ricktas]

I think my monitor is not very good.
I struggle to get the colors right.
Maybe I have to get a better one.

You would be much better of spending your money on a monitor calibration device (http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showthread.php?91096-Monitor-Calibration-Devices)

[wedgtail]

Mine checks ok thnks for the post Kym

[4wdexposure]

Very good test site. I haven't calibrated my monitor because I've been very happy with the standard display. The test confirms it is pretty much spot on only falling down a little in the black and white contrast tests (and doesn't seem to have the quality to be improved by fiddling with the settings).

Many thanks

Robert Norman

[William]

Robert we're not talking about how good the colours are on your display, And how much you like the colours , It's about Calibration to a set standard , So that what you see on your screen while you go through the processing of images, Is what you get when you view the printed artical , No point in processing Images and when printed dont look like anything you saw at all !!! :Doh:

[Cherry]

Hi, thanks for this, have new monitor and thought I needed to calibrate it. All seems ok. Cheers Cherry.

[ricktas]

Hi, thanks for this, have new monitor and thought I needed to calibrate it. All seems ok. Cheers Cherry.

Chances are you probably do, the calibration bar IS NOT going to tell you if your screen is calibrated correctly, just that it is set to the correct brightness levels, nothing more

[barkingox]

thanks for the calibration bar

[kiwi]

My iPad passes

[joeyvaldezjr]

Good thing mines calibrated!

TFS!

[PCaspo]

Thanks Kym for shedding light on the subject

[GJC]

If you're serious - get a Spyder. But there's not much point getting one, if you have a crappy monitor in the first place. I've tried a number of other Gamma correcting software to calibrate monitors and they all end leaving you seeing spots. The grey scale chart is a good start, but colour temperature is so important if you're dealing with colour images. Most cheap LCD monitors have a blue cast. Laptop monitors are another problem because they generally don't have the facility to adjust the colour temp at all and usually only brightness and not contrast.

[ricktas]

If you're serious - get a Spyder. But there's not much point getting one, if you have a crappy monitor in the first place. I've tried a number of other Gamma correcting software to calibrate monitors and they all end leaving you seeing spots. The grey scale chart is a good start, but colour temperature is so important if you're dealing with colour images. Most cheap LCD monitors have a blue cast. Laptop monitors are another problem because they generally don't have the facility to adjust the colour temp at all and usually only brightness and not contrast.

Any monitor can be calibrated! And calibrating it will improve it. The issue of the calibration bar not being a guide of a good monitor has been repeatedly emphasised in this thread. We also have another thread in the Colour Management forum that deals with the different types of monitors and their quality in general. That thread is here (http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showthread.php?89862-The-different-types-of-monitors-available-for-photo-editing) and there is a list of available calibration devices here (http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showthread.php?91096-Monitor-Calibration-Devices).

it doesn't matter if you have a $200.00 monitor or $20,000 monitor, calibration will be required, and regularly, if your work requires accuracy to a high degree of tolerance.

And it would be great to see some of the photos you have managed to process on all these monitors you have calibrated. I just went to have a look and see the work you produce with them, but can't find a single photo you have put on AP for others to see.

[GJC]

HI Rick,
I agree with you 100%, and the calibration bar is a good quick approach for brightnees and contrast. All I'm saying is that I've spent a lot of time in the past trying to make sure my monitors were calibrated as well as I could get them (mainly becasue they have been on the cheaper end) with software tools that require you to adjust the gamma for each colour channel buy subjective callibration. Since I bought the Spyder - it's made it a lot easier.

In regard to your snipe about me not having posted any photos, here is a thread in which I posted photos: http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showthread.php?50747-Canon-EOS-7D-High-ISO . Yes it's the only one; and these were probably before I got the Spyder anyway.

I don't get onto the forum very often and was planning on starting to posting some photos soon to get some feedback, but now I'm starting to feel unwelcome.

[ricktas]

HI Rick,
I agree with you 100%, and the calibration bar is a good quick approach for brightnees and contrast. All I'm saying is that I've spent a lot of time in the past trying to make sure my monitors were calibrated as well as I could get them (mainly becasue they have been on the cheaper end) with software tools that require you to adjust the gamma for each colour channel buy subjective callibration. Since I bought the Spyder - it's made it a lot easier.

In regard to your snipe about me not having posted any photos, here is a thread in which I posted photos: http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showthread.php?50747-Canon-EOS-7D-High-ISO . Yes it's the only one; and these were probably before I got the Spyder anyway.

I don't get onto the forum very often and was planning on starting to posting some photos soon to get some feedback, but now I'm starting to feel unwelcome.

Whether you feel unwelcome or not is entirely up to you. but this is Ausphotography, not Ausphotogear and I was merely suggesting it would be good to see some of your photos, cause after 2 years of membership, I am sure you have a few keepers that you could share with us.

[non culpa]

As we said in the trenches, "Thanks for the heads up". That means thank you for the information in normal talk.

[non culpa]

First slip-up, should have thanked ricktas.

[mepradhan]

thanks for info!! :):rolleyes:

[Salisbury]

Thanks for that, it was a bit over exposed.:th3::th3:

[William]

Thanks for that, it was a bit over exposed.:th3::th3:

You mean the brightness may have been a tad high, Never heard of an over exposed Monitor , There's more to it than just the Calibration Bar at the bottom :rolleyes:

[Roger W]

Wonderful thread. but please be aware that if you are using a laptop the angle of the screen will make a difference.

[ricktas]

Wonderful thread. but please be aware that if you are using a laptop the angle of the screen will make a difference.

Incorrect!

SOME laptops maybe, but not all. It depends on the type of screen your laptop has : http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showthread.php?89862-The-different-types-of-monitors-available-for-photo-editing

There are bad monitors and there are great monitors, and these exists in both desktop and laptop monitors, but a blanket statement about using laptops can be misleading.

[William]

Question : Wondering what time of day and in what lighting do you Calibrate your Monitor, I do know that you dont have direct Sunlight on the screen Etc, More, Do you do it in the morning or Evening , I have my computor in a room with the Curtains drawn all day , But it can still get very bright in the morning with the low sun angle against the curtains , Or at night with a subdued light on ?? , I use a Spyder 3 Express , It does say watch for direct light on the screen , But up here the light during the day can really effect the colours on the screen , I dont want to Calibrate at a certain time of day , And then have to process at that time , Just wondering - Bill

PS : It's time for a recalibrate :)

PPS : I do mine monthly , I get the warning on the screen to recalibrate

[ricktas]

I calibrate mine in the light that I generally do my processing under. So afternoon and evening, for me. As you say William, the light in the room can change and this can affect the way us humans see the screen, though out eyes (and brains) are fairly good at auto-white-balance. We tend to know something is white, even if the light shining on it makes it look blue at the time.

My calibrator has an ambient light feature and during the calibration process it looks at the light in the room, and incorporates that into the profile it builds for my screen. So I always try and calibrate at the same time of day that I generally do my editing. Doing it monthly is good, for a variety of reasons, one of which is that as the light changes throughout the year, as we move from winter to summer, recalibrating regularly compensates for that.

[William]

Thanks Rick, The reason I asked also was that I have the cheapy version , The "Express" Although it works fine , It does'nt have all the bells and whistles that the Elite and Pro versions have , Namely the Ambient light feature :( I guess I'll just go with a medion if I can get the lighting average , The only other way would be to Calibrate just before processing each time :Doh:Most of my processing is done mid morning after a Early morning shoot , Maybe just calibrate then , Thanks mate for your reply I think this type of stuff should help members new to Calibration :th3:

[shisho]

Thank you for this info!!

[Phil Mac]

Thanks for that, mine also was too bright, and I wasn't seeing the distinction at the white end. I wonder if anyone in the household will notice the changes? :cool:

[ameerat42]

Thanks for that, mine also was too bright, and I wasn't seeing the distinction at the white end. I wonder if anyone in the household will notice the changes? :cool:

(Jeepers! What peepers, Phil Mac.)
Next Q: Where'd you get 'em?:D

[Ezookiel]

Woohoo.
My daughter destroying my old laptop, and my having to get a new one, means that I now have a monitor that shows ALL of the seperate shades on the calibration bar at the bottom. My previous laptop joined the last two (can't remember if it was the last two black, or last two white, but either way it wasn't ideal).

[ryanmacca]

I use a Spyder4 Elite for my calibration. Invaluable when one has multiple computers and monitors!

[Rae]

:th3:

[Jimmy]

Thanks for that, never realised the monitor was out!

[Chappo]

Very bright right hand side and very dark left hand side. That is my one.

[William]

Get a new monitor, Or you need to calibrate by the sounds of that , You should be able to see each separate segment , But there is more to it than just this little quick test :rolleyes:

[tyb1987]

thanks for the calibration bar. It's really help me a lot.

[ricktas]

The calibration bar does NOT mean your monitor is correctly calibrated. It just means that the brightness levels are correct, nothing more.

To ensure your monitor is correctly calibrated, the use of a hardware device (http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showthread.php?91096-Monitor-Calibration-Devices) is necessary. Please do not assume that because you can see all the squares on our calibration bar, that you do not need to use a monitor calibrator. Use of a hardware calibration device is the only way to get it right!

[chrissmithy]

Great tool for checking your monitors brightness, I struggled so much with calibrating my monitor that I finally purchased a Monitor Calibrator (well Xmas Present) I put a second monitor on and it calibrated that as well there are some slight differences between the monitors but you have to stare hard to see the difference. And the Bar Below, I see all which is reassuring (yes I know it should lol)
Oh by the way in reading some of the below posts I have the version that adjusts for ambient light I Highly reccomend it. Am new to the Forum hoping I can contribute as well as learn a lot

[dannyv]

Many thanks! It's a great help!

[Rob Davids]

If you find that the left hand few all look the same (black), or the right hand ones are all white, and you cannot see any graduation between them, your monitor needs calibrating. The optimal way is with a hardware colorimeter calibration device, like a Spyder. If you do not have access to one, the best method I have found is here (http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/)
Line look OK and distinct on an iPad. I doubt I can do any calibration on of anyway.

[ricktas]

Line look OK and distinct on an iPad. I doubt I can do any calibration on of anyway.

iPads etc can be calibrated with the latest hardware calibration devices

[Warren Ackary]

I get 3/4s of the way across and thats it

Then again I have an el cheapo monitor plugged into my laptop :(

[Nashy]

Thanks for putting it at the top again. Works well, but I have trouble seeing the Gamma cal using that QuickGamma that is linked. Any advice with that?

[Kym]

Thanks for putting it at the top again. Works well, but I have trouble seeing the Gamma cal using that QuickGamma that is linked. Any advice with that?

From this? http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/

We don't manage that site so you will need to ask there.

In the end the best calibration is with a device.

[shniks]

I was looking for something like this, thanks for posting.

[coopers789]

Thanks. My monitor looks as though it is calibrated pretty well.

[goodgroove]

Everything seems to be OK here
Thanks for this useful info.

[escape]

thank you

- - - Updated - - -

than you

[JohnDavo]

My monitor seems to be calibrated OK

[ricktas]

My monitor seems to be calibrated OK

Not sure how many times we have said it in this thread. Do NOT use the bar as a decider if your monitor is calibrated correctly. This just shows that your monitor brightness and contrast are correct, it does not show if colours are being rendered correctly, or if the warmth/coolness (kelvin) of your monitor is correct.

[Willilamwgn]

Thanks for this post, I could see the different shades in my photos after this caliberation!

[tsmpaul]

Thanks for this thread! I'm seeing each of the bars now.

[richtbw]

So glad I invested in a SpyderProearlier this year

- - - Updated - - -

So glad I invested in a SpyderPro earlier this year

[MilanB]

Looks fine on a 1920 x 1080 LCD screen

[Sabi Lear]

All good here in Mexico with 33 very distinct bars, thanks for sharing!

[extraball]

that bar comes in very handy. I use a laptop, and wouldnt know what angle to have the screen without it.

[William]

The calibration bar does NOT mean your monitor is correctly calibrated. It just means that the brightness levels are correct, nothing more.

To ensure your monitor is correctly calibrated, the use of a hardware device (http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showthread.php?91096-Monitor-Calibration-Devices) is necessary. Please do not assume that because you can see all the squares on our calibration bar, that you do not need to use a monitor calibrator. Use of a hardware calibration device is the only way to get it right!


Just a reminder , Does not mean that your Monitor is calibrated correctly , As Rick and I have said before , It's a good Brightness and contrast check :)

[yisiyue000]

i can see 48 gaps. Oh my, I forget to wear my glasses lol. I am a freshman in photography. I hope I can learn a lot from here

[jeffo]

Thanks Kym.

All is good. Will dig a little deeper on the link you have provided for further understanding.

Neil

[Bill Curnow]

My monitor appears to be OK

[El Baroda]

Thanks, Kym. Mine is okay.

[ricktas]

Again:

The calibration bar does NOT mean your monitor is correctly calibrated. It just means that the brightness levels are correct, nothing more.

To ensure your monitor is correctly calibrated, the use of a hardware device (http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showthread.php?91096-Monitor-Calibration-Devices) is necessary. Please do not assume that because you can see all the squares on our calibration bar, that you do not need to use a monitor calibrator. Use of a hardware calibration device is the only way to get it right!

Just cause you can see all the bars does not mean your screen is OK.

[coolermaster]

Newby here, thanks for the tip.

[Amelia]

Thanks Kym
:)

[William]

I'm wondering if this thread is just being used to reactivate , There seems to be a lot that just say thanks with 1 or 2 posts , We dont get any saying , Great I've just purched a Calibration tool to do the proper calibration as we have suggested on numerous occasions ? :confused013

[ricktas]

I'm wondering if this thread is just being used to reactivate , There seems to be a lot that just say thanks with 1 or 2 posts , We dont get any saying , Great I've just purched a Calibration tool to do the proper calibration as we have suggested on numerous occasions ? :confused013

If I notice those (and many above I have) I send them a PM explaining the inactive cycle. Eventually they will lose access and have to post every single day for 6 months to retain/regain access. My thoughts are they are not wanting to/willing to join in, so the inactive cycle will bite them.

[Homegirl]

Thanks for this, all looks ok.:rolleyes:

[beardedcamera]

Thanks very much for that, I appreciate the effort put into it. It's always great to find that your monitor is working against a variety of tests. It also shows that my calibration tools are working well. That said, do you know much about the new Spyder4 and if they made such improvements with it that one "should" replace Spyder3?

The spyder4 was an upgrade, and basically uses the same colorimeter as the 3 version. The colorimeter changed a lot between spyder 2 and spyder 3.

[shaman]

Observant lot you all are... :rolleyes:

There is a new calibration bar at the bottom of the screen...


As a brand new member of about 10 minutes I am pleased that my monitors correctly display the bar :)

[liljayne]

Thankyou that was very handy

[Roycewf]

Yes to calibrate correctly, you need a spider, have seen them on e-bay at reasonable prices.

[Tamama]

Thank You

[xhatiik]

well looks good

[MBPierre]

I recently re-calibrated my monitor. happy to distinguish the 33 shades

[thegrump]

Seems good enough to me

[ricktas]

Seems good enough to me

No. It is not. As has been repeated several times in this thread, all it does is show that your brightness and contrast are OK. Not great... not correct..just OK.

All photographers need to buy a monitor calibration device and use it, regularly.